C.G. Drews is such an imaginative and immersive author. The prose in this novel is just beautiful and I could see, smell, and feel what was being described. The first 25% was a little slower paced and it took me a bit to get into, but the last 75% I flew through. If you’re a fan of “Don’t Let the Forest In,” or just gothic horror in general, then you’ll love this book.

I'd give this 100 stars if I could. This was beautifully written. I highlighted like 12 quotes from this book and I rarely do that. The characters, the plot, the TWIST! I loved it so much.

C. G. Drews delivers with another gothic fever dream steeped in botanical horror, queer longing, and the unraveling of fragile minds! This one will ensnare you, drag you through a labyrinth of thorns, and leave you questioning whether the scratches on your soul are metaphorical or all too real.

When reclusive, neurodivergent teen Evander inherits the eerie Hazelthorn estate after the death of his guardian, he’s bound by three rules: don’t leave the estate, don’t enter the garden, and don’t be alone with Laurie—the dangerously charming heir of the house. Naturally, all three are broken.

Drews cultivates a gorgeously grotesque YA gothic horror where grief blooms into obsession, and love is a vine that strangles. Her prose is rich and languid. Every word feels overripe and every sentence crawling with intent. The estate’s garden is more monster than landscape and a character in and of itself—one that feeds on secrets, shame, and blood. The plot is extremely atmospheric. Told through the fractured lens of an unreliable narrator, you are drawn into Evander’s psyche where nothing is certain except dread. It’s The Secret Garden if the roses had teeth.

The emotional heart lies in Evander and Laurie’s tense, magnetic bond. Their relationship is as intoxicating as it is toxic, a reimagined Byronic romance through a queer lens. Drews tackles themes of neurodivergence, grief, and identity. AND it’s handled with care. Evander’s autism is depicted with sensitivity, shaping his inner world without reducing him to a trope. 🙌🏻 The queer narrative is heartfelt and complex, rooting identity in pain, intimacy, and survival.

As the boundaries between house, self, and nature dissolve, so too does any hope for clarity or safety. Hazelthorn is not a gentle read though. Body horror, emotional trauma, and psychological manipulation bloom on every page. It’s both beautiful and grotesque.

If you enjoyed Don’t Let the Forest In, you’ll love this one. It’s a must-read for fans of Crimson Peak, Wilder Girls, and anyone who suspects their garden might be watching.

4.5 Stars!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this!

Evander inherits the Hazelthorn estate and it's fortune after the untimely death of his guardian, Byron. One issue, Evander is sure that his guardian was murdered. He must work with Byron's grandson, Laurie to uncover the secrets of the Hazelthorn estate. What secrets will come out while they're digging?

The best way to describe this book is visceral and grotesque. This book will have you questioning everything between the unreliable narrative of someone who has been locked up for 7+ years with little human interaction and the plot twists that will leave you speechless. I couldn't put this down. There were genuinely moments where I was gagging because of the amount of grotesque detail that was included. On top of the eerie setting and walls lined with secrets, there was also this deep yearning that was felt throughout the whole book. Plus, the ending was so so satisfying.

When people ask me what my favorite book of all time is the immediate answer is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is a book that I reread constantly when I little. I remember going to see the early 90s movie and thinking it was perfect. Since then I have reread it numerous times and seen any adaptation.

Sooo when I heard that Hazelthorn reminded people of it, I had to pick it up. To say that I loved it would be an understatement. There are definite parallels between the two. In my opinion this is inspired by the orginial and done so well. The body and plant horror was something that I did not know that I wanted but it just right for me. We are following Evander who has lived most of his life in a room at Hazelthorn. When his parents died in a car accident his guardian has kept him under lock and key. The only person that he sees reguarly is a servant named Carrington who brings him his medicine. In addition to dealing with a sudden death, a new inheritance, and an old childhood friend who tried to kill him years ago, Evander is not sure what is real anymore.

I am now one who writes down quotes or highlights lines that move me but this book made me do that. The relationship between Evander and Laurie was horrifically perfect. This will be a favorite of the year and will be reread sooner than later. Thanks so much to Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another beautifully written book by C. G. Drews. I am in awe of how they find yet another way to paint such a gorgeous story with pain and longing and life of being neurodivergent so well. I absolutely ate this story up, and my heart longed for more after.

I received this e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I have to say, is read the content warnings at the beginning of the book. Drews is serious about these. I do believe they missed a few as well, with some being more spoilery than others and therefore left out here. They include, but are not limited to, a car accident, cannibalism, self harm, confinement, parental death, toxic relationship, and murder (though that is in the synopsis of the book). It's possible this isn't a full list, and I am just one person, so it is possible what I consider to be a content warning would not be considered such by someone else.

That being said, I did enjoy this book. It was a little predictable, but not in the way you'd expect. While I had an idea as to the final outcome and answer to the mystery, I had no idea how it would come about. Quite frankly this book is deeply disturbing sometimes but even so I needed to know what would come next.

If you liked CG Drews's other book "Don't Let the Forest In," or enjoy Andrew Joseph White's books and want something that is somehow more gruesome than his YA books, this is the book for you.

This book was seriously amazing. I absolutely loved the twists and turns… the ending had me looking exactly like this emoji 🤯
It has been a while since I’ve read a thriller esc book and the botanical elements just made this so so much fun! I was taking constant notes and highlighting all throughout my kindle, which almost never happens for me.
I seriously have no words to express how much I loved this book and how I can’t wait for it to release to the rest of the world for them to love it too!
Thank you to NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

What a very lush wander to have had exploring these gardens with you. Hazelthorn is the kind of story that keeps you holding your breath with visceral reactions and descriptions to give you mares for days to come. The vivid imagery that Drews is giving us here nearly demands a graphic novel of this journey into the soils of Hazelthorn.

The kind of thorns we're given here are a wilding in mental health and personal divinity. It's a story we have all had or can relate to having had at one time or another and we're so happy to have processed through these greens.

I had a rampant ravaging time wrapping my mind around this frankinstein of a garden.

Long may you rot.

ARC review- 4.5⭐️ WOW this was an addicting read!! evander and laurie’s complex relationship kept me hooked and dying to know what was going to happen next. the gothic atmosphere of hazelthorn was delightful and disturbing at the same time. i highly recommend this book!!

This book reminds me of Into the Heartless Wood by Jonna Ruth Meyer but if the world were evil. I enjoyed a lot of the horror though I wish there was more tension and build up before creepy/horrific events started. I love Laurie as a character and how much of his life and experiences were explored. For such an intricate story I wished the villains had been more than one dimensional.

What a wild ride! I have given Hazelthorn 5 well deserved stars! I ate this book up and couldn’t stop myself from turning the pages. I finished this book at 3am because I could not make myself stop. This book has you wondering, and questioning everything and everyone! Who killed Evander’s billionaire guardian Byron Lennox-Hall? Is there something wrong with timid, polite, sickly, fragile Amnesiac Evander? Is there something wrong with the Lennox-Hall manor Hazelthorn, the wild, hungry, overgrown but beautiful garden, or maybe the entire family? And what is up with Laurie the handsome, spoiled, rich 17 year old teenager that once tried to kill Evander? Evander also will have to pick quite the unlikely alliance to find out and survive what is unfolding at Lennox-Halls manor HAZELTHORN!

We are introduced to 17 yr old Evander and the rules first.
1. Don’t forget to lock the door to Evanders room after you have gone in to deliver his food and medications
2. Never let Evander into the gardens
3. Laurie and Evander are to never be in the same room or left alone together.

The book is a mystery that unfolds as each page is turned and I was invested straight away.. The creepy and confusing way this book takes you on a journey to figuring out what this boy Evander can’t remember, what this manor and garden have to offer and what it TAKES, who killed Evander’s guardian Byron and what’s going on with Laurie and all of the Lennox-Halls?


Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan children’s publishing group for providing me with an ARC of this fantastic YA horror novel. I throughly enjoyed this reading experience.

Sinister and intensely claustrophobic from start to finish, Hazelthorn is a brilliant nightmare. Evander has spent most of his life within the walls of Hazelthorn, and nearly the entirety of what he can remember has been spent confined to his bedroom. Laurie, his guardian’s grandson, is the boogeyman that haunts him ever since he tried to kill him as a child. Still, Evander is drawn to Laurie for reasons he can’t explain.

When Evander’s guardian dies, apparently murdered, everything falls to pieces in an intensely chaotic murder mystery. The Lennox-Halls are fabulously wealthy, incredibly cold, and were barred from Hazelthorn up until the death of the family’s patriarch. What unravels will keep the reader hanging on long past the final page.

Drew’s prose comes close to poetry at times and the romance between Laurie and Evander is brilliantly depicted. It runs white hot, hating someone to the point of devotion until it turns to love and entanglement. The stakes are high as Evander must discover what really happened between him and Laurie on that day, why the garden is forbidden to him, and who he really is.

I love Evander and Laurie so much. Absolutely brilliant.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan for this ARC. Review to come to GoodReads and elsewhere closer to publication.

This was 5 stars for me!

I have no words. I love CG Drews because they honestly write the most addicting stories and characters.

This gothic horror hit all my boxes with an addicting storyline and wicked banter.

HIGHLY recommend

This book was truly beautiful and the way that it was written. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot as well as the character development in the overall storyline. I can say I was pleasantly shocked by the ending of this movie, therefore I cannot wait for the physical copy to come out.

The way C.G. Drew’s right is incredibly beautiful and the extent of love, yarn, angst, horror, and the way the characters are written, has you craving more. I will be uploading my in-depth review from Goodreads as well. But this book was absolutely beautiful and I currently have no words!

Evander is a living ghost in the forgotten corners of Hazelthron. He’s been there ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, after the deaths of his parents. He’s only ever been given three rules to follow: He can never leave the estate. He can never go into the gardens. And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron’s charming and underachieving grandson Laurie.

The last rule was the most difficult for him because Laurie, who’s parents died in the same accident that killed Evander’s, is his most secret obsession. Against all his survival instincts, because Laurie tried to kill him when they were kids, Evander cannot forget the gold of his hair or the shine in his eyes. And now Laurie might be the only one who can help him.

This is a queer horror story that fills the pages with atmosphere. In the same way that C.G. Drews previous book (a standalone queer horror) Don’t Let The Forest In, this book contains mystery, angst, madness and love. Evander’s reclusive, anti-social and probable mentally unstable behavior is so well-written that I felt the emotions myself. I grew furious with the injustices that happened to Laurie. I feared the piece-by-piece reveal of the mysteries hidden in Hazelthorn! It was a tragically gorgeous story in all the best ways.

This is a book for anyone who loves queer gothic horror, the slow building anticipation of a locked-room mystery solved, and stories with just a touch of madness.

I'm in shock. Bewildered. C.G. Drew has completely taken my breath away. I'm amazed at how effortlessly this book pulled me into its pages and kept me enthralled until the very last sentence, lingering even after I closed it.

This author has done it once more. They rendered me speechless, my thoughts stumbling as I tried to articulate a coherent response. Yet, nothing emerged. What can I possibly express about a lonely, anxious boy who hasn't left Hazeltorn in seven years?
Whose voice is strained from disuse after so much time in silence? Who is pursuing the notion of being normal, despite not even understanding what normal truly means?

This book defies genre classification. It transitions from a psychological thriller to a murder mystery, touches on almost vampire-like elements, delves into horror, and then returns to psychological themes, all while igniting a terrifying craving for more.

I adored the suffocating atmosphere of an ancient mansion being gradually consumed by the encroaching gardens... Gardens that Evander, our main character, is never meant to explore. For his own safety. At least, that's what he's told by those who, of course, have his best interests at heart.

Such an interesting read! This author is slowly becoming my favorite! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

"'Let me ruin myself on you.'"

WOW. CG Drews continues to blow me away with their control on language. The visceral imagery used for such tender emotions has been amplified tenfold since Don't Let the Forest In. They've really mastered the unreliable narrator; I still don't know what was real and what wasn't. I also like how Drews doesn't overuse blood or gore or body horror elements. I think that's why they're so much more gruseome and unsetlting when they do happen.

If I had to find somethng to critique, I'd say there are times it's hard to tell what exactly is happening at times, and what is Evander's memories or imagination. I also think the eventual buildup of a romance between Evander and Laurie was a little fast. But neither of these take away from the captivating plot.

This is perfect for fans of their last book and Knives Out, and dare I say even Saltburn. Messed up, a little queer, and beautiful illustrations to boot, Hazelthorn is definitely one of my favorite reads this month.

The details and writing were beautiful and gave me anxiety all at once. I love C. G. Drews’ ideas and how her mind creates this scenes full of creepy botanicals mixed with queer sexual tension. Would definitely read her books again.

I would say I’m in the minority that this is a 5 star book and would more closely give it a 3.75. Though I loved reading it, it felt somewhat predictable and some of the breadcrumbs were more like pieces of bread. But anyway. Still would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The way it was CG’s books that got me hooked on what I have dubbed “wtf is wrong with the woods” subgenre of horror. I mean seriously THIS WAS GREAT. Poor Evander, being used and abused and taken advantage of. And Laurie—forced to make himself small and hated, living in perpetual misery his entire life.

Sigh.

I do love myself a well written book and I’m so thankful that I was sent an eARC from the publisher. Unsolicited eARC emails are THE BOMB. thank you guys so much and thank you CG for another fabulous book.